One of Ecuador’s biggest money-making gringo traps is no longer… or at least is no longer what it was… tragically, thanks to the Japanese. If you have read anything on tourism in Ecuador, you have probably read something on the train called Nariz del Diablo that runs out of Riobamba. It’s a train, whose track defies convention, and tourists are frequently seen riding the top of the train. It makes a lot of money for the area. It runs three days a week and services about 70 people each trip. Tourists from all over come just to ride the train… but no longer.

Apparently, several Japanese tourists were very excited to partake in the famous ride. However, they failed to stay seated, and very tragically, two were decapitated by a low hanging wire while 4-5 others fell from the train – injured, but alive. This all happened about six weeks prior to our arrival. The news, which had been kept secret by my host family (for fear it would frighten us), traveled slowly and many tourists were left disappointed and with a few lost days on their journeys. Granted, there is still another train that runs the track, assuming they haven’t sold all 70 tickets to the first three people standing in line. Many angry folks when that happens.

It will take the tour books a while to catch up to this sad event. And who knows, they may go back to the original old train. But for now, if you want to ride the tracks, you’ll do it in a more modern train, from the inside, with all the romance of a Greyhound Bus. That is if you can get the tickets…